A/N: Sorry, I'm taking so long to update! I've been busy, but I'll really try. Oh, and thanks for the reviews!

The next morning was Thursday. One more day until the dance. Troy just really didn't want to go at all. Everybody had a date, except him. Well, he did have a date. That is, if you count Sharpay as one. How could Gabriella be so stupid to hook him up with her? He never had a friendship with Chris. He was just a guy on his team that he would occasionally talk to.

"Troy, you need to wake up!" He mom called from downstairs. "Troy!"

He rubbed his eyes, and yawned. Maybe he should just skip school. His parents would never let him. Especially his dad.

"Troy? Are you awake?" She yelled again.

He slowly got up and put on a blue shirt with a green sweatshirt. He pulled on some blue jeans, and didn't even bother to do anything with his hair.

"Troy!"

"I'm up!" He yelled, sick of everybody around him.

"Well, then hurry up and get down here for breakfast."

He groaned again and grabbed his backpack and went downstairs. His dad was at the dining room table reading the paper and sipping his coffee, and his mom was wiping the counters in the kitchen.

"Good morning, sleepy head," she said to him.

He gave a weak smile and sat at the table. He grabbed a breakfast bar. His dad was reading the sports section, and it only made Troy feel uncomfortable.

His dad put the paper down and put his coffee in the sink, "Come on, Troy. I'm giving you a ride today. Let's go."

"Okay," he threw his rapper away and sat in the front seat of his dad's car. It was silent and he was fiddling with his jacket zipper.

"You going to that dance tomorrow?" His dad asked.

Troy was surprised his dad asked. Why would he care? Did he really want to tell him about his personal life?

"No," he replied.

"Why?"

He shrugged.

When they pulled up, he got out and waved to his dad before entering the building. When he got to his locker, all there was were Taylor, Zeke, and Chris. He didn't care that much for any of them. He put his books away and got the ones he needed. Just as he shut it, Chris came up to him.

"Hey, Troy."

"Hi," he muttered, walking to Mrs. Darbus' class. Chris caught up to him.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked.

Troy stopped, "Wait, why would I be mad at you?"

"Because I'm going out with Gabriella."

"You're going out with her? Like going steady?" He asked.

"Well, I mean going to the dance with her. Not like boyfriend and girlfriend yet, but are you mad?"

Troy paused, "No." He kept walking.

"Are you sure, because if you don't want me to, then..."

"No, go out with her, dude. She really likes you," he said, feeling hurt.

"Really? I was thinking at Chad's party, I was going to ask her out."

"I thought you weren't going to Chad's party," Troy said, as they entered class and took their seats.

"Well, I decided I'd go for Gabi. She'll probably be lonely, and besides, it looks fun."

"Yeah," he muttered, as everyone else entered. He turned so he was facing front. Chad sat behind him, and tapped him on the shoulder. He groaned, turning around again.

"So, you have a date yet?" Chad asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes," he answered, slightly irritated.

"Really? Who? Did Gabriella break her date with Chris?"

"No; I'm going with Sharpay."

Chad burst out laughing, "You're serious? Sharpay?"

Troy turned back around, with not one smile on his face. Gabriella was in the back. He knew it, but he didn't want to face her. She even found out that he was embarrassed. When the homeroom bell rang, he quickly made his way out, avoiding his friends. Unfortunately, one person followed him.

"Hey, Troy!" Sharpay's face beamed, with sparkles, shimmery specks, and glossy lips.

"Hi."

"So, we're going to the dance together, right?" She asked, still smiling.

"Yeah, I guess, if you want to."

"Of course I do, silly. Um... so do you want to take my limo. I ordered one especially for this night."

"Actually, I can't. But, can I meet you there?"

"Okay. Sure. That sounds good. I'll call you tonight!" She said, walking away.

By the time lunch came around, Troy felt like just going home for it. He sat at one of the chairs, around the table, next to everybody else.

"Hey, Troy," they all said.

"Hey," he said.

"Okay, so everyone, remember; my party is tomorrow night, right after the dance. Got it? Can everyone be there?" Chad asked.

"Yeah," they all nodded.

"Okay, good."

Troy overheard Gabriella and Taylor talking next to him. He played it like he couldn't hear them.

"Do you like Chris?" Taylor asked.

"Yeah, I guess. He's pretty great... and cute," they giggled.

"What if he asked you out?"

"I don't know," she blushed.

"Come on! At the afterparty," she nudged her side.

"I said, I don't know!"

"Would you say yes?"

"Maybe," she mumbled, "look, Taylor, we'll talk more about this later, okay? Right now... is just not the best time. Come over after school; we can discuss our look for tomorrow night, and talk more about... stuff."

"Sounds good."

Troy really wanted to know what they were going to talk about. Would they talk about him? Would Gabriella talk about how he had asked her, but she turned him down? Wait, they're best friends. She probably already told her. He had to find out what they were going to talk about. But how?

"So, what are you thinking of wearing?" Taylor asked Gabriella, as they walked to her house after school.

"I think- wait, did you hear something?" Gabriella asked, and turned around. Troy quickly hid behind the rather thick tree. What if they saw him? Gabriella would be so pissed that he was spying.

"No," Taylor responded. "Come on. Nobody's there. Now, what are you thinking of wearing, Gabriella?"

She turned back around and continued walking, "Hm... Not sure. But, you can help me pick it out."

Troy waited until they were past the next tree, until he moved. When they got into Gabriella's house, he sighed, feeling thankful to make it past the walk home. Now how to listen to the rest? He made his way around the house and up the house. He finally made it to her balcony and put his hands on his knee's. He felt like he just climbed up Mount Everest. He knew it wasn't that hard o climb up her house. I mean, he's done it before, but it was a mixture of triumph, and nervousness.

Luckily, the window was a tad opened. The girls weren't in Gabriella's room yet. He waited, and waited. He decided to do his English homework while waiting. What if they already talked? This was just a waste of time. He suddenly heard voices, and a shutting of her door. He quietly placed his schoolwork back in his bag and got up to listen. He hid behind the outside of the wall, but could still hear.

"Okay, so get out the dress we were talking about downstairs," he could hear Taylor say.

"It's in my closet," Gabriella said. He could hear her ruffling in her closet and pulling something out. "What do you think?"

"Oh, Gabi, it's gorgeous. Chris is going to love it!" Taylor exclaimed.

Troy could feel his stomach knot. He turned, so he could see the dress. It was a teal blue that was to about the knees. It was a halter. Troy couldn't help but stare in awe. It was so beautiful.

"You think?"

"Definitely. So, back to our conversation at lunch."

"Ugh," Gabriella groaned and sat on the bed. "What do you want to know?"

"What's really going on between you and Chris?"

"I don't really feel like talking about it..." she said.

"Gabriella, nobody's here. It's just you and me. Now, do you really like him?"

Gabriella paused, "Yeah. He's really sweet and nice."

Troy could almost feel tears forming in his eyes. He didn't let them come out, though. Why should he cry over Gabriella? She didn't like him? They weren't meant for each other. Maybe coming here was a bad idea.

"So, you'll say yes, if he asks you out?"

"I guess. Yeah."

"What do you like about him? Tell me everything!" Taylor exclaimed.

Troy couldn't stand to listen one more second. He quietly grabbed his bag, which took a while to fiddle with. She was probably saying how cute, and generous, and everything that Troy wished he could be to her. He swung his leg over the balcony, hoping they couldn't hear anything.

"What about Troy? Do you still like him?" Taylor said. Troy's ears perked, but too bad he was already on his way down. He wanted to come back, to hear what Gabriella was going to say, but instead, fell onto her lawn, on his back. He winced in pain. He looked up and saw Gabriella and Taylor's head looking over the balcony.

"Troy? Oh my god!" Gabriella yelled, "Hang on; don't move!" Her head disappeared, but Taylor's stayed.

"Troy, what are you doing?" She asked, calmly.

"Uh, nothing."

"Then, why are you on the ground?"

He tried sitting up, "no reason."

"Uh huh, right. Let me guess, you wanted to spy on us to see if we were talking about you or Chris."

He looked up at her in amazement, "How did you know?"

"I can tell you like her. I mean, you must really like her, climbing up her house and everything."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well, to me. I guess not to her. God, why did you have to fall? She was about to tell me!"

"Sorry. Hey, you think I wanted to fall?" He rested his head on the grass. Just then, Gabriella came rushing to his side.

"Troy, are you okay?" She asked, helping him sit up.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"What were you doing?" She asked.

"Um... coming to see you," he said, quickly.

"You could've knocked, you know," she laughed a little.

"Sorry."

"You poor thing," she said, rubbing his back. "Here come inside." She helped him stand up and into her house. He sat at her kitchen table. She got some ice out of the freezer and gave it to him.

"If you were coming to see me, then why did you go back down?"

"Uh... I was actually on my way up, and I fell. Sorry to bother you."

"No, it's okay," she said, as Taylor came downstairs.

"Hey, Troy. Pretty hard fall, huh?" She grinned at him.

"Yeah," he said, hoping she wouldn't tell Gabriella what was going on.

"Do you want to call your dad, Troy? I'm having him pick you up. You're not walking home,"

She got up to get the phone.

Taylor faced him, "Smooth."

"Shut-up, and don't tell her anything."

"Okay, but I think she might like you. Are you sure you don't want me to bring anything up?" She asked.

"No, don't say anything. She likes Chris and that's all there is to it."

"Here," Gabriella said, handing him the phone.

"Thanks."

When Troy and his dad got home, Troy went strait up to his room, the best he could. He sat on his bed, and put his head in his hands. There was a knock on the door.

"Troy," his dad cam in and sat next to him.

He lay back in his bed and buried his head in his pillow. He didn't want to talk to his dad.

"What's going on? You don't seem like your self," he said, putting a hand on his back.

"Everything's fine," but he could feel his voice start to crack.

"Troy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing!"

"You can tell me anything. You know that, right?"

"Yes," he replied, wanting a shoulder to cry on, but didn't want to turn to his dad. He wanted to turn to Gabriella, but she was the problem.

"Okay," his dad got up and headed to the door.

"Dad, wait," he slowly sat up.

He turned around. "Yeah?"

"Nothing's all right," he said.

"What's up?" He said, sitting next to him.

"Gabriella."

"What do you mean?"

"See, I asked her to the dance, but she's going with somebody else, and I just feel really embarrassed."

"Troy, you don't need her. She's not that important-"

"Yes she is! To me she is! I really like her, and you don't know how it feels to have somebody you really like you, maybe even love, reject you like that!" Troy couldn't believe he was telling his dad everything. He was spilling his heart out and he couldn't believe it was to his dad.

"I'm really sorry. I know you really like her," he said, becoming more sympathetic.

Troy did something he never thought he would do and hugged him. He began to feel tears form. "I just really, really like her. More than anyone, and it just... hurts to have her not feel the same."

"I'm sorry. You know I'm here."

Thanks for reading! This is my longest chapter for this story, so please update! I'll update really soon! Please review!